I chuckle to myself when I read stuff like this because I will never understand peoples rage about it. Or about how early Christmas decorations/trees/carols are both for sale and seen in shops.

Don’t want to buy Hot Cross Buns til the week before Easter? Then don’t. Don’t want to partake in Christmas shopping til December? Then don’t. Just because they’re there, doesn’t mean you have to participate or even acknowledge their existence LOL

If people didn’t buy them, the shops wouldn’t stock them so early, so look to your fellow consumer as to the reason why they’re already instore 😉

I am not religious in any way shape or form, so Hot Cross Buns have no meaning for me, other than being bloody lovely to eat [the fruitless or chocolate versions only of course – I don’t do dried fruit eww!].

After reading this, I’m hoping to now find some yummy chocolate hot cross buns in the shop next week to devour before Wednesday, what with giving up anything and everything that tastes remotely nice for 2014 and all that jazz!

I’m one of those people who will cheerfully buy a packet (or ten) weekly until Easter. Fruity (and really, they don’t make them properly with ALL THE FRUITS anymore, it’s just sultanas), fruitless and chocolate (omnomNOM!), I will have all the buns all the time.

I’m actually more offended by the fact that there are Easter eggs on sale as we speak at at least two of my local shopping centres. Yes, I rounded a corner and saw fucking Elegant Rabbit on a shelf and lost my shit.

Fruit buns are one thing – because they sell them all year round, just sans the crosses, but Easter eggs? Holyshitballs.

Those “other consumers” who do buy this shit so early that they just keep rolling back the stocking dates, I want to hunt those people down in the carpark of the supermarket and beat the living shit out of them.

Hot cross buns are for EASTER, not for before-you-take-your-fucking-Christmas-tree-down-mas.

I refuse to buy them, and complain loudly about the ridiculousness of stocking them as I shop, because I’m just a little ray of festive sunshine.

People buy them because they are there, and I do buy them because they’re there and because I love them. I wouldn’t even think about them otherwise and I am certainly NOT one of the consumers who fall into that “consumer demand” thing – I certainly don’t demand them. If they weren’t there, I wouldn’t buy.

I love them but I am hopeless at cooking them otherwise I WOULD cook them myself year ’round. Having said that, I wouldn’t be upset if they started selling them from late February or a few weeks in the lead-up to Easter either. That’s more conscience-appropriate for disillusioned Catholics like me. LOL

Bloody one-upmanship! Two yeras ago, Woolworths had them on sale on Jan 2nd, so last year Coles had them on sale by Jan 1st.
It’s all about money with those two.
I personally think it is wrong; the stores say they put them out because people want them, but I think people buy them because they are there. If they weren’t available, would people picket their shops and demand them?
Of course not. They’d wait for Easter as they should. I never bought them until Easter and now I don’t buy them at all, I don’t like them.

See, this is the problem…people eat Mince Pies for MONTHS before Christmas, then Hot Cross Buns for MONTHS before Easter and the cultural significance of these traditional foods is lost.

Here’s another thought, if people DIDN’T eat these things for MONTHS at a time, they wouldn’t be worried about putting on a pound or two over Christmas or Easter, because they know they will go back to normal eating habits and the extra pound or two will disappear on its own. Unless they stuff themselves all year round anyway, like me with chocolate and/or icecream.

Bathing suit ads came out here a few weeks ago along with a few Valentine items being promoted at a local doughnut shop… a small shelf in a local store for Spring items (USA spring) tucked in the back like a promise to over-promote way too early for everything. I refuse to think about those things yet…. /fingers in ears, hands over eyes/

I totally agree. It’s such a shame to have a lovely tradition, then make it meaningless.

When I lived in Adelaide, I was a purist. We didn’t have them until Good Friday (and only those from Perryman’s Bakery – chock full of fruit and spices). Now I live here, there are no Hot Cross Buns, so I make them for Easter week. I LOVE them and the more fruit and peel the better. I’ve even introduced them to the family here and they are firmly part of our Easter tradition.

Here, we have a bun that is supposed to be sold for what we’d call Pancake Tuesday. It’s a cardomon bun filled with almond paste and whipped cream, called Semlor. They are generally sold just before Lent, but this year I saw them for sale in November! I couldn’t believe it. Of course they used a traditional Christmas spice (saffron) and called them “Saffran Semlor” as if that made it any better.

I think it’s a bit sad and possibly an indicator of the world changing and becoming much more an instant gratification kind of place. People want everything NOW, but I think half the fun is the waiting and anticipation. God, I sound like my bloody nana!

I usually ignore them until closer to Easter, but someone mentioned today about eating them with Nutella and I was all “OMG, WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS BEFORE???” so there is a good chance I will be buying some soon!

Hot Cross Buns should have sultanas and currants and mixed peel and maybe even a raisin or two. They should be in the shops about 2 weeks before easter. They should be eaten hot with heaps of butter (not margerine).
If you want them any other time, buy fruit buns or spicy fruit loaf. If you don’t like fruit, DON’T BUT THEM!
A bit like the lady that used to order a decaf soy latte and put articicial sweetner in it. Fake coffee, fake milk and fake sugar. JUST DRINK WATER!

Double fruit hot x buns should be available all year round – and get rid of the chocolate ones – there is something terribly wrong with a hot x bun that has chocolate in it.
It’s NEVER too early for hot x buns !
Me